The title of my message tonight is The Elect Multitude. Last Sunday night, after the service was over, Bro. Buddy Daugherty asked me to explain more specifically who the hundred and forty-four thousand sealed ones are. That number, 144,000, is a definite number given to describe an indefinite, but complete, number of men and women whom God has chosen to save. Twelve thousand sealed out of the twelve tribes of Israel, is a symbolical representation to us that all the Israel of God shall be saved. Not one shall be missing. Do not trouble yourselves with trying to find some literal number of people who will be saved at a given time. In verse 1-8 John saw that God would seal, preserve, and save all his elect in the earth, so that nothing should harm them. The vision means no more and no less than this: God's elect are secure. God's church is safe. The number is not to be taken literally, but symbolically.
In verses 9-10, John saw this same multitude in heaven. Those who were sealed on the earth will all, in the end, stand before the throne of God in perfect, complete, glorious, eternal salvation. Read with me – "After this," after I saw the sealing of God's elect, "I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, Of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God, which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb."
I wish I had the power to describe this glorious multitude to you. There is the throne of God, solid, immutable, unshaken, upon the throne sits the Lamb, the Lord Jesus Christ, the sin atoning Sacrifice. And standing before the throne is a complete circle of redeemed, justified, glorified sinners. All this vast multitude was chosen in eternal love, redeemed by precious blood, and saved by sovereign grace. Can you see them? There is Abel, Enoch, and Noah. I see there the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. There stands old Job, Lot, and Eliezer. There is Sarah, Rebekah, and Rahab. I see in the crowd the faces of the prophets, Samuel, Elijah, and John the Baptist. There are the apostles and disciples. There, standing side by side, hand in hand, is Mary the mother of Jesus, Mary Magdalene, Simon the Cyrenian, The Ethiopian Eunuch, Lydia, Onesimus, and the Jailor. There are the martyrs and all the faithful. I see there the faces of some who have preached to me and some whom I have preached. If I might expand the vision a little, say another hundred years, I can see some of your faces in the crowd. And, wonder of wonders, I even see myself in the glory circled throng! Are you a believer? Do you trust the Lord Jesus Christ? If so, you shall be numbered with this multitude. Are you an unbeliever? If you die in your rebellion and unbelief, you will be forever banished form this multitude. You shall not be heir to the family's eternal fortune. You shall be crushed into everlasting torment. God help you now, as I preach to you to repent and believe the gospel. Oh, look now to the Lamb of God and be saved, that you may look upon him and live forever!
Proposition: God shall save all his elect! Divisions:What are we to learn from this vision of The Elect Multitude in heaven? Five things:
1. In Heaven The Throne Of God Is Central.
2. The Eternal God Delights In The Company Of Men.
3. The Gospel We Preach Will Succeed.
4. All God's Elect Will Be Perfectly Saved At Last.
5. All The Saint's In Heaven Sing The Song Of Sovereign Grace.
Have you noticed, in reading through the Book of Revelation, that the center of everything is the throne of our God? The first thing John saw, when he was caught up to heaven was the throne. Everything proceeds from the throne. Everything returns to the throne. And all the saints of God in heaven have one central rallying place, the throne of God and of the Lamb. We are told that this elect multitude "stood before the throne." They are not broken up into groups, one considering this subject and another investigating that mystery. They are not divided into parties there, one wearing the name Baptist and another wearing the name Presbyterian. They all stand as one body before the throne. And, though their number is beyond human calculation, every eye was directed to one spot, every heart had one object – The throne of God and of the Lamb.
A. In Heaven They Worship God Upon The Throne.John saw God upon a throne. Divine sovereignty is the daily vision, atmosphere, and joy of the saints in glory. Down here, a man can hardly mention God's sovereign character without raising opposition. Rebels hate the King's sovereignty above everything else. When God declares, "I am the Potter you are the clay. I will do with you what I will. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy. And whom I will, I harden – "the language of the sovereign grates harshly on their ears. But in heaven, where every heart is right with God, they rejoice in the fact that God sits upon the throne of total, sovereign, universal dominion. One of their favorite songs is, "The Lord God omnipotent reigneth!" When a man's heart is right with God, when he is reconciled to God, he delights in God's absolute sovereignty.
1. God's rule is to the believer a cause for great joy and peace (Ps. 115:3; 135:6).
2. God's total sovereignty is the very foundation of our faith and the cause of our joyful adoration.
B. The Reason The Saints In Heaven So Greatly Delight In God's Sovereignty Is This: They Always See God In The Lamb.
That is the key. If you could see the glory of God in the Person and work of Christ, the sacrificial Lamb, you would not dread his sovereignty, you would love it. Even in heaven, the sight of God, in his essential glory and majesty, is too great for man to bear. We rejoice in God who "sitteth upon the throne, (even) the Lamb." That is to say, "We rejoice in God because we see him in Christ, the Lamb! This is a precious thought – Even in heaven's eternal glory, Christ appears as the Sin-bearer, the Substitute, the Sacrificial Lamb, by whose blood we are saved.
I expect I will be perfectly at home in that heavenly multitude. The things they love most, I love most. The things they talk about most, I talk about most. The things they rejoice in, I rejoice in – Divine Sovereignty and Substitution. If these glorious truths of Holy Scripture make you uncomfortable, I am afraid you would be uncomfortable, very uncomfortable, if you ever entered heaven.
II. Secondly, our text shows us that The Eternal, Sovereign God Of Heaven Delights In The Company of Men.
Here is God, glorious, majestic, independent and self-sufficient, surrounded by an innumerable company of men. The thought is precious. Even before the world was made, in old eternity, he said, "My delights were with the sons of men" (Pro. 8:31).
God needed no creature to complete his glorious Being. Man could add nothing to God's greatness, glory, and happiness. Alone in his ineffable glory, God was eternally complete, self-existent, and self-sufficient. But God would not be alone. He willed not to be alone.
A. He created the Worlds, we know not how many, in splendorous beauty, variety, and skill, to show forth his wisdom, power and greatness (Ps. 19:1-4).
B. But inanimate creatures could not return love to their Creator – So God created The Angelic Hosts, immortal, intelligent, holy creatures, who both love and serve their creature unceasingly.
C. But still the angels, noble and mighty as they are, could not come so near to God as he desired. They could not enter into his Being. They must always worship him at a distance – So the great God said, "Let us make man in our image and after our likeness." This is the pinnacle of God's creation, the crowning work of his hand, God made a creature like himself, in his own image, after his own likeness, because he willed not to be alone!
D. But even man could not know God as he desired to be known – Therefore God ordained the fall of all that many, a great multitude which no man could number, might know him in his fulness, fellowship with him, and be one with him forever.
1. Only redeemed men can know redeeming love.
2. Only elect men can know electing mercy.
3. Only justified men can know justifying grace.
4. Only saved men can know saving power.
5. Only regenerated men can know the living God and be one with God.
6. Only ransomed sinners, saved, justified, and glorified can show forth all the attributes of the infinitely glorious God – (Eph. 2:1-7).
I am in waters over my head. I cannot explain the mysteries about which I speak. But I speak only what I know. This multitude in heaven declares, God delights in the company of men. Let me be in that company of men who delight in God. "He delighteth in mercy!" Let me be in that multitude who eternally delight in his mercy.
III. This vision manifestly reveals a third fact of which we need to be often reminded – The Gospel We Preach Will Succeed.
We are always fretting. We are always in a hurry to see results. And if we do not see them right soon, we either get depressed and are ready to give up the work, or we are tempted to tone down our message and develop new methods, which are more acceptable to men. We all want to speed up God's work. The Lord showed John this great multitude standing before God's throne, and seems to say, "John, the ark of God is safe. The gospel will succeed. You do not labor in vain."
A. My Friend, Christ Jesus Must See Of The Travail Of His Soul With Satisfaction – (Isa. 53:8-10).
The pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in the hands of Christ. He did not die for nothing. He will not lose the purchase of his blood. A countless multitude must be saved, for Christ bought them with his blood. He shall see of the travail of his soul and be satisfied when he sees all his redeemed ones with him in glory.
B. And The Instrument Of Power, By Which Christ Shall Save This Great Multitude, Is The Gospel Of God's Free And Sovereign Grace, Which We Preach – (Rom. 1:16-17).
Churches can be built with entertainment, philosophy, or politics. Churches can be built with friendliness, gimmicks, or tricks. But that which is built on wood, hay, and stubble is only wood, hay, and stubble. It will not last long. It will be burned. The foundation upon which God's church is built is Christ. And the only instrument by which he works is the gospel we preach.
Oh, Spirit of God, bring back to your church confidence in the gospel. Give to your church men who will give themselves entirely to the glorious work of preaching the gospel with simplicity and boldness. And give your servants the power and anointing of heaven to preach the gospel effectually. By this means alone shall the walls of Zion be built.
Of this I am sure – The gospel must succeed. It cannot be prevented. A great multitude which no man can number shall be saved by the power of God, through the simple preaching of Jesus Christ and him crucified.
IV. That brings us to the fourth fact revealed in our text – All Of God's Elect Shall Be Perfectly Saved At Last.
All who were sealed by God in eternal election, blood redemption, and divine regeneration shall be perfectly, eternally, completely saved. God will see to it (Eph. 1:4; 5:25-27; Phil. 1:6; Jude 24-25).
Let me show you six things about this elect multitude in heaven.
A. Their Variety –In the last day, the saved ones in heaven shall be "a great multitude, which no man could number, out of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues.
1. God's elect are a vast multitude, beyond the number of human calculation.
2. God has his elect in every part of the world.
3. God's elect in heaven will retain their personal identity.
Though they are a vast multitude, and though they are called from every rank, station, and nation of the earth, all the saints in heaven are perfectly one.
1. They all have the same rank and position.
2. They all have the same apparel.
3. They all have the same joy.
4. They all have the same love.
5. They all believe the same thing.
John tells us this great multitude "stood before the throne." That is not meant to teach us that the saints do not rest in heaven, or that they cease to worship God in humility. Heaven is our final, eternal sabbath of rest. And there we shall certainly fall before our God in true humiliation and worship – (Rev. 4:10; 5:8). What is the meaning of this word then – They "stood before the throne"?
They stand fast, secure, fixed, immoveable, confirmed, and established. Their feet shall never slide. They stand on solid ground. Their standing is no more secure in heaven than it was upon the earth. The only difference is this – In heaven all the saints know their security!
2. Standing is also the posture of service.In heaven the saints stand, like a mighty army. They stand like servants ready to do their Master's bidding.
John tells us that this great multitude "stood before the throne!" That is to say, "They stand eternally in the immediate presence of God." This is the charm of heaven – We shall "ever be with the Lord." Their vision is always full of the Lamb!
E. Their Apparel –The Scripture tells us here that the saints in heaven aare all "clothed with white robes."
1. White is the symbol of purity – Imputed righteousness.
2. White is the garment of festivity.
3. White is the color of priestly garments.
4. White is apparel of the Bride on her wedding day.
5. White is the color of the victor.
The robes of the saints are white because they washed them and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Blood washes away the stain of blood! We killed the Son of God. The guilt of his blood was upon us. But his blood has washed away our guilt.
Weary prodigal, come home. A white robe, the best robe of the Father's house awaits you. The robe was woven by Christ to fit you who come. It is complete. It is ready. The Father holds it in his hand to put on your back.
F. Their Victory –John saw this great multitude, standing before the throne, clothed with white robes. And he tells us that every one of them had "palms in their hand." The palms indicate conquest, victory, and salvation (John 12:12-13).
Child of God, victory awaits you! We shall overcome!V. There is one more thing in this vision. John tells us that All The Saints Of God In Heaven Sing The Song Of Sovereign Grace.
They all "cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb." They all learned the song on earth, in the belly of hell (Jonah 2:9;; Ps. 37:11). And they all sing it with delight. The saints in heaven all know and acknowledge that "Salvation is of the Lord!" All the saints on earth know it and acknowledge it too. He is the Author and the Finisher of our salvation.
Not one of those glorified spirits says, "Stop. I know that salvation is of the Lord, but I had a hand in the matter. I chose the Lord. The decision was mine. We must not overlook man's free-will." No, no, no! Never a soul entered heaven who imagined such a thing! All of God's saints declare – "Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy, and for thy truth's sake" (Ps. 115:1).
Application:I pray that the Lord may now convince you both of your need and of his grace. There is salvation in Christ for all who trust him. There is not one thing for you to do.
Trust him now, and I will meet you with the Elect Multitude before his throne! God help you now to trust his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Great God, graciously force sinners here to trust Christ!
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